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AK 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, 



DELIVEEED IK 



€\xut €\m\, Stratto, ton., 



ON THE 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT, 



MABCH 28tli, 1855. 



BY THE 



REV. JOHN A. PADDOCK, M. A., 

RECTOR. 



"Hemember the days of old." — Dent xxxii. 7. 



'^ 



NEW YORK: 

G. P. PUTNAM & CO., 10 PARK PLACE. 

1855. 

;-■■ 



^^'' 



TO 

HIS BELOVED PARISHIONEES, 

WITH THE PRAYER 

THAT THEY MAY EVER PROVE WORTHY 

OF 

THEIR SPIRITUAL ANCESTRY, 

IS DEDICATED 
BY 
THEIE FEIEND AND PASTOR. 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 



1 Kings, viii. 57. 
"The Lord onr God be with us, as He was with our fathers." 

In History we see God's dealings witli the "World, 
with the Church, and with Individuals. Much of 
both the Old and New Testament is taken up with 
historical records, from the study of which the inspired 
authors designed that we should derive profitable les- 
sons. After a like manner, from the view of God's 
care over any portion of His Church in any age, we 
may be instructed, comforted, edified. For the mem- 
bers of a Christian Congregation, the history of their 
own Parish may be supposed to possess peculiar in- 
terest. 

This was the first Episcopal Church organized in 
Connecticut. For a long time it was prominent among 
the parishes in the State. Hence, many of our breth- 
ren in the faith feel with us a deep interest in all that 
pertains to its past history. To that history, from the 
beginning to the present time, I would now ask atten- 
tion.* 

* In preparing this discourse, tlie author has received great aid, to the 
time of the Eevolution, from the letters sent by the clergy and officers of 
.the Church here, and its friends elsewhere, to the Bishop of London, and 
the Venerable Society : for the opportunity to peruse these valuable mate- 
rials of our early history, he acknowledges himself indebted to the cour- 
tesy of the Rev. Dr. Hawks, Historiographer of the American Church. 

The Parish Records are also pretty full, and have afforded much 
assistance. 



About the year 1690* there were, in this town, 
" a considerable number of professors of the faith of 
the Church of England, desirous to worship God in 
the way of their forefathers." The number of fami- 
lies thus attached to the Episcopal Church a few years 
later, is stated to have been fifteen. Some of these 
had removed from the mother country, and others, 
through their influence, had conformed to their views. 
There was, however, no clergyman in the State,f and 
no one was found to feed these few sheep in the wil- 
derness. In the year 1702, an application was made 
to the Bishop of London for a missionary, but without 
success. In September, 1705, the town being destitute 
of any minister, those attached to the Episcopal Church 
applied to the Eev. "Wm. Vesey, of Trinity Church, 
New York, requesting him to visit them, " to preach, 
and administer the ordinance of baptism." Mr. Vesey 
did not feel able to comply with the request, " by rea- 
son of the distance," but desired Rev. Geo. Muirson, of 
Eye, to respond to the call. Mr. Muirson accordingly 
came on the 2d of September, 1706, — one year from 
the time that application was made to Mr. Vesey, — 
accompanied in hisjourney by the Hon. Col. Heathcote, 
who "went fully armed." A place was found for 
worship, and Mr. Muirson, though threatened " with 
prison and hard usage," " preached to a very numerous 
congregation, and baptized about twenty-four persons, 
mostly grown people." Within the' next few months 



* The Town was settled in 1639. 

t There were at this time in the State about thirty-three towns, and a 
population of 80,000 ministered to by Congregationalists. 



lie made two or three visits, and on one occasion was 
accompanied by the Rev. Evan Evans, of Philadelphia. 
Towards the close of the next year, the Eev. John 
Talbot, of Burlington, InT. J., preached here to " a nu- 
merous auditory." About the first of April, lYO'T, the 
Parish was organized by the election of Wardens and 
Vestry. 

These movements were not without strong opposi- 
tion on the part of the Congregationalists, whose form 
was then the established religion of the Colony. We 
now read with astonishment of the prejudice which 
prevailed, and the hostility manifested. At Mr. Muir- 
son's second visit, " a member of the Council," on the 
Lord's Day, " stood in the highway himself, and em- 
powered several others, to forbid any person to go to 
the Assembly of the Church of England, and threat- 
ened them with a fine of five pounds." The pa- 
rishioners subsequently complained that many had 
been " seized and imprisoned in the county gaol " for 
not paying the sums demanded for the support of the 
Congregational minister, and "for refusing to pay 
money to buy a house and farm for their minister." 

But, notwithstanding such opposition, the prospect 
of success seemed good. Mr. Reade, the Congrega- 
tional minister, early manifested a friendship for the 
Church, soon conformed to it, and expressed his desire 
to receive Holy Orders.* Others of their ministers 
privately informed Mr. Muirson, that, if a Bishop was 
in the country, they would enter our Church. A pe- 
tition from the parish for a clergyman, addressed to 



* The expense and peril of crossing the Atlantic were probably the 
reasons why he was never ordained. 



the Bishop of London on the 1st of April, 1707, bears 
the signatures of nineteen men, acting " in behalf of 
the rest." * From a commnnicatiori to the Society in 
England for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts, dated January 1, 1708, we learn that the reso- 
lution had been taken to build a Church, and the 
hope was expressed that they would " have it fit to 
preach in before next winter." Application was made 
to the Society, by the parish and its friends in other 
places, that Mr. Muirson should be appointed mis- 
sionary to them. The request was granted. But be- 
fore the intelligence reached this country, Mr. Muirson 
had been called from his labors to his reward, having 
departed this life at Rye, in October, 1708.f 

This was a heavy affliction to the infant parish, 
Mr. Muirson had first officiated for them according to 
the rites of their loved Church, first administered the 
ordinances of religion to them and their children in 
this strange land. He was characterized, as possessed 
of " a wonderful deal of prudence and discretion,''^ 
" having a very happy way of preaching, and, consid- 



* Their names were : — ^Eichard Blacklatch, Isaac Knell, Daniel Shel- 
ton, Wm. Eawlinson, Jonat. Pitman, John Peat, Saml. Gaskill, Samuel 
Hawley, Will. Smith, John Skitmore, Timothy Titharton, Archibald Dun- 
lop, Thomas Edwards, Isaac Brint, Daniel Bennett, Richard Blacklatch, Jr., 
Tho. Brooks, Isaac Stiles, Saml. Henery. 

t George Muirson was a Scotchman, born about 1675. In 1703, he 
was sent by the Venerable Society as schoolmaster to Albany. In the 
Fall of 1704, he went to England, and received Orders from tho Bishop of 
London. Returning to this country in July of the next year, he imme- 
diately took charge of the parish at Rye. Bolton's Church in Westchester^ 
p. 148, &c. 

X Letter of Col. Heathcote, Feb. 24, 1707. 



ering his years, wonderfully good at argument, and 
his conversation without blemish," held by the people 
"in great esteem for his piety and virtue,"* and pecu- 
liarly fitted for the responsible position of a pioneer in 
the missionary work.f 

During the next ^ve years, the Rev. John Talbot, 
of Burlington, N. J., the Rev. Chris. Bridge, of Rye, 
N. Y., and the Rev. Mr. Sharpe visited the parish from 
time to time, and encouraged them in their feeble 
state. Mr. Sharpe, in January, 1710, was' accompa- 
nied by Col. Heathcote, and spent " near a month," 
baptizing many, " amongst whom was an aged man, 
said to be the first man-child born in the colony of 
Connecticut." J 

Such attention had the Church excited at this 
time, that it was thought proper by the Congrega- 
tionalists, " that one of the best preachers both colonies 
afforded should be sought out and sent here,"§ and 
the Rev. Timothy Cutler, " who lived then at Boston 
or Cambridge," was selected, and entered upon his 
charge in the year 1709. 

Gov. Hunter of N. Y., two years after this, speaks 
of receiving a visit, when he was in Connecticut, from 
the Episcopalians of Stratford, who, he says, " appeared 
very much in earnest, and the best set of men I met 
with in that country." 



* Rev. E. Evans, June 18, 1708. t Ool. Heathcote, April 14, 1707. 

I Letter from Wardens and Yestry to Yenerablo Society, 1712. — The 
names of the Wardens and Vestry first appear this year. Wardens — Timo- 
thy Titharton, Wm. Smith. Vestry — William Eawlinson, Wm. Jeanes, 
John Johnson, Richd. Blacklatch, Daniel Shelton, Archibald Dunlop, Jas. 
Humphreys, James Clarke, Edward Burrough. 

§ Col. Heathcote. 



10 

But no pastor was found to watch over and guide 
tlie flock. And while they were thus as sheep with- 
out a shepherd, the persecution against them did not 
at all diminish. They sent a petition to the General 
Assembly, sitting at Hartford in May, IT 10, pray- 
ing for relief, but without any success. A combi 
nation having been entered into, not to employ trades- 
men or others belonging to the Church, some were 
obliged to leave the place. But, in an address to 
the Queen sent in 1712, the Vestry, after speaking 
of their other trials, show their earnest desire for a 
clergyman, by adding, " the want of a minister is the 
greatest of our afflictions." 

In all their troubles, they found in that true- 
hearted layman, Col. Heathcote, a trusty counsellor. 
In the address just referred to, they speak of him as 
one " who hath ever been a true friend both to us and 
the Church, and always encouraged us not to swerve 
from our holy profession, notwithstanding the difficul- 
ties and trials we met with, and the bad success we 
had in our frequent addresses for a minister."* 

At last their petitions for a clergyman seemed an- 
swered. Eev. Francis Philips, having been sent out 
by the Society in England, arrived in Stratford on the 
19th of Dec, 1712, and took charge of the Church. 
The members felt encouraged. Several persons, " the 
masters of considerable families," were about leaving the 



* Col. Caleb Heathcote came to this country in 1690, and bonght large 
tracts of land in Westchester County, IST. Y. He was a member of the 
first Vestry of Trinity Church, N. Y., and a leading man in the Province, 
at different times Mayor of New York, Commander of the forces of the 
Province, Surveyor-General of the Customs for all ITorth America. He 
died in 1721j and was buried in Trinity Church Yard. 



11 

Congregationalists to unite witli tlie parisli. But all 
their bright anticipations were thwarted by Mr. Phil- 
ips's unfitness for the position, — " Being," wrote Col. 
Heathcote, " of a temper very contrary to be pleased 
with such conversation and way of living as Stratford 
affords." He was not satisfied with the people, nor 
they with him, and he left abruptly on the 19th of 
Aug., 1713, having been, during his nominal connection 
with the parish, absent in New York about seven weeks. 

The parishioners were now extremely discouraged. 
During the next year, the Rev. Mr. Bridge, of Eye, 
wrote to the Society : " The interest of the Church in 
Stratford seems to be declining; there are there an 
honest and sober people, truly zealous for the Church ; 
but they live among neighbors who despise and misuse 
them, *** and have met with so many discouragements 
and disappointments that they are almost wearied out ; 
they are frequently calling on me to assist them, and I 
go as often as my health and the affairs of my owni 
parish will allow me." The zeal of the people is showni 
in the fact, that, this same year, they had " the timber 
felled for a church, and hoped to get it raised in three 
months' time." 

Some time after, the Rev. ^neas Mackenzie was- 
conditionally appointed to the parish, but deemed it 
best to settle on Staten Island. 

In Sept., 1718, we find the Vestry again writing to 
the Society, bemoaning their sad condition. They close 
their letter with words which may briefly express the 
condition of the Church at the conclusion of this period 
in its history ; " as to our outward estate, it may very 
well be said that we are inconsiderable ; but as to our 
number, we have had at least a hundred baptized into 



12 

the Church, and have had thirty-six at one time parta- 
kers of the Holy Communion of the Lord's Supper, 
and have several times assembled in our Congregation 
between two hundred and three hundred persons." 

Four more years had they to wait, and a brighter 
period dawned upon the struggling parish. The minis- 
ter of God, for whom, we may believe, they had prayed, 
during the long night of discouragement and persecu- 
tion, came among them. 

On Trinity Sunday, A. D. 1722, Kev. Geo. Pigot, 
having been sent by the Society in England as Mis- 
sionary to Providence, but with the request that he 
should remain at Stratford for a time, gathered the 
members of the Church for service. The Wardens,* in 
a communication to the Society, expressive of their 
" most grateful acknowledgments " for this their care 
for them, also " render hearty thanks for those neces- 
sary books " which Mr. Pigot brought for the use of 
the parish. For Bibles, Prayer Books, and other vol- 
umes for religious reading, they were long indebted to 
friends in England. 

Mr. Pigot found much prejudice to be encountered, 
the charges of " popery, apostasy, and atheism," being 
brought against the Church, but he was encouraged by 
the inquiries made as to its principles by several lead- 
ing Congregational ministers. As the result of their 
examinations, four, including the Rev. Mr. Cutler, who, 
after ten years' ministry among the Congregationalists 
in Stratford, had, in 1719, removed to New Haven to 
assume the Rectorship of Yale College, and the Rev. 



* John Johnson and William Jeaues. 



13 

Samuel Jolinson,* then a Congregational pastor in 
West Haven, relinquished their stations, conformed to 
the Episcopal Church, and went to England for Holy 
Orders.f 

On Mr. Johnson's return, he relieved Mr. Pigot of 



* Samuel Jolinson was born at Guilford, Ot., Oct. 14, 1696. At the 
age of fourteen, he was sent to the College of Connecticut, established at 
Saybrook, where he graduated in 1714. In 1716, he was appointed tutor 
in the college, which had been removed to New Haven, and continued in 
this office four years. He was then set apart to the Congregational minis- 
try, and settled at West Haven, where he remained till he felt constrained 
to enter the Episcopal Church. The workings of his mind, and his ardent 
desire to be guided aright in making this change, are seen in the following 
extracts from his private journal (which, I believe, have never before been 
published), for permission to use which, I am indebted to Mrs. Susan 
Johnson. 

" June 3, 1722. — I hoped when I was ordained, that I had sufficiently 
satisfied myself of the validity of Presbyterian ordination under my circum- 
stances. But, alas ! I have ever since had growing suspicions that it is 
not right, and that I am an usurper in the House of God, which sometimes, 
I must confess, fills my mind with a great deal of perplexity, and I know 
not what to do ; my case is very unhappy. Oh that I could either gain 
satisfaction, that I may lawfully proceed in the execution of the ministe- 
rial function, or that Providence would make my way plain for the ob- 
taining of Episcopal orders. What course I shall take I know not. Do 
thou, O my God, direct my steps, lead and guide me and my friends in 
the way everlasting. 

"Sept. 17, immediately after the Commencement, 1722. — ^Being at 
length brought to such scruples concerning the validity of my ordination, 
that I could not proceed in administration without intolerable uneasiness 
of mind, I have now at length (after much study and prayer to God for 
direction), together with my friends (Mr. T. Cutler, Mr. J. Hart, Mr. S. 
Whittlesey, Mr. Jas. Eliot, Mr. James Wetmore, Mr. Dan. Brown), after 
some private conferences with ministers, this Commencement made a 
public declaration of my scruples and uneasiness, and am advised to sus- 



t Three of the number, including Messrs. Cutler and Johnson, were 
ordained to the Diaconate and Priesthood, in St. Martin's Church, by Dr. 
Green, Bishop of Norwich, and Yicar of the parish, who officiated for the 
Bishop of London, then at the point of death. 



14 

the care of the churcli in Stratford, enabling him to pro- 
ceed at once to Providence, whither he had been from 
the first desirous of removing. During the eighteen 
months of his ministry here, he seems to have labored 
faithfully, officiating occasionally in Fairfield, Newtown, 
and other places. At his departure he reported seventy- 
nine communicants, widely scattered, and six adults 
and fifty-seven infants, as having received baptism.* 

Soon after he left, he received from "Mr. Richard 
Sackett, settled at Dover, an up town in the province 
of New York," a grant of 400 acres of land in this 



pend administration for the present. It is with great sorrow of heart that 
I am forced thus by the uneasiness of my conscience to be an occasion of 
so much uneasiness to my dear friends, my poor people, and indeed to the 
■whole colony. O God, I beseech Thee, grant that I may not, by an ad- 
herence to Thy necessary truths and laws (as I profess in my conscience 
they seem to me), be a stumbliug-block or occasion of fall to any soul. 
Let not our thus appearing for Thy Church be any way accessory, 
though accidentally, to the hurt of religion in general, or any person in 
particular. Have mercy. Lord, have mercy on the souls of men, and pity 
and enlighten those who are grieved at this accident. Lead into the way 
of truth all those who have erred and are deceived, and if we in this affair 
are misled, I beseech Thee show us our error before it be too late, that we 
may repair the damage. Grant us Thy illumination, for Christ's sake. 
Amen. 

" Oct. 6, 1722. — ^In the fear of God setting myself now upon the serious 
consideration of the great and urgent affair now under my hand, and a 
deliberate examination wherein my duty lies, I now set down the motives 
which lie before me on both sides of the question. Whether I shall now 
go over to England, and offer myself to the service of the Church ? 

" That which I propound to govern myself in general in this affair, is 



* From Providence Mr. Pigot removed in 1727 to Marblehead, Mass., 
and became rector of St. Michael's Church in that place. In 1738 he 
asked leave of the Society to visit England. His request was granted. 
On the 16th of June, 1740, he was collated to the rectory of Chaldon in 
Surrey, where he continued till his death on the 9th of Eeb., 1760. — Vp- 
dihe's Narragansett^ p. 204, and Letter from the Curate of Chaldon in 
1850. 



15 

village, "for a perpetual glebe," and "200 acres addi- 
tional, to finish the Church." Mr. Sackett's title was 
questioned, though deemed good by Mr. Pigot and 
others, his land having been purchased of the Indian 
Sachems before a charter was given to the colony. 
The Church does not seem ever to have come in pos- 
session of this gift, as, a few years after, we find it 
stated, " there is no house nor glebe." 

Mr. Johnson arrived in Stratford about the first of 
November, 1723. The Venerable Society granted 
him, as his predecessor, an allowance of £60 per an- 
num.* In his first letter to the Bishop of London, he 



the awful account which I expect to give of all that I do in this world 
before the dread tribunal of God, when the secrets of all hearts shall be 
disclosed, and every one shall receive according to his work. 

*' Though I have been a grievous sinner, and deserve to be left of God, 
yet, as those instances wherein I have offended bear no relation to any of 
these controversies, and therefore cannot be supposed to have any influence 
by way of temptation to the present undertaking, but, (if any thing,) the 
contrary; so I do renounce and abhor them, judge and condemn myself 
for them, and humbly purpose to continue forever in watchfulness against 
and war with them, and to make business of mortification, by God's 
grace, imploring His pardon and mercy in Jesus Christ ; and therefore I 
hope in God He does not and will not abandon me to err in any thing of 
great consequence. 

"God's glory, the good of His Church in general, and the safety of 
precious souls in particular, are the ends I would always, and particularly 
in the present case, have in my eye. 

" Upon the most deliberate consideration, I cannot find that either 
the frowns or applauses, the pleasures or profits of the world, have any 
prevailing influence in the affair. 

" Now, therefore, to consider particularly what lies against in the first 
place, and here are several particulars : 

" 1. Some few seeming texts of Scripture, and a possibility of interpre- 
ting all on the side of and in favor to presbytery. 



* The allowance was subsequently reduced to £50, and thus continued 
till the Society's connection with the Parish was dissolved by the events 
of the revolutionary war. 



16 

alludes to tlie " inveterate enmity " to tlie Episcopal 
Clinrcli, in the colony, but expresses the belief, that, in 
Stratford and a few other towns, the eyes of many 
were " opened to see the great error of such an un- 
charitable and therefore unchristian spirit" as had 
been manifested. 

On Christmas Day, the church, which had been 
begun under the preceding rector, was opened for 
divine service. It stood in the present Church Bury- 
ing Ground, was ^' forty-five and a half feet long, thirty 
and a half wide, and twenty-two between joints," and 
is spoken of by Mr. Johnson, as a " very pleasant and 
comfortable building." For aid in its erection, the 



" 2. Breaking the peace of the country in general and of my own 
people in particular, which are great things. 

" 3. Danger of the stumbhng of weak brethren, and the damage of 
precious and immortal souls, and grieving good men. 

" Now these considerations are indeed of great weight, and it is not a 
little thing should be sufficient to balance them. 

" On the other hand I consider, 

" 1. Sundry texts of Scripture there are which seem to me plainly to 
intimate, that Episcopacy is of Apostohcal appointment, which, together 
with the unanimous witness of the Church immediately after the Apostles' 
times, and downward in the purest ages of Christianity, seem as much at 
least (if not more) to oblige my conscience to submit to Episcopacy as a 
divine appointment, as to observe the first day of the week, and therefore 
do as much oblige me to declare in favor of Episcopacy in this country, as 
for the Lord's day, supposing I were in a seventh day country. 

" 2. If this be therefore a Divine or at least Apostolical institution, 
(as I am fully persuaded it is,) fear of breaking peace should not shut up 
my mouth in a matter of so much consequence." 

This is farther enforced under seven sub-divisions, and he concludes : 
" These considerations all laid together, it seems to be my duty to venture 
myself in the arms of Almighty Providence, and cross the ocean for the 
sake of that excellent Church the Church of England, and God preserve 
me, and if I err, God forgive me." 



f 



17 

parish were indebted to friends in New York, and 
elsewhere* 

The missionary was soon forced to complain, and 
continually for many years, of the persecution and 
imprisonment of members of his flock,f for their neglect 
to pay taxes for Congregationalism. It was claimed 
by churchmen that the charter forbade the colonists 
doing any thing contrary to the laws of England, and 
that it gave no authority to establish here a Form of 
Eeligion in opposition to the Church of England, and 
persecute those disliking that Form. Their claim, 
however, was not heeded. By one of the laws, any 
stranger coming into the place could be immediately 
warned by the Authority to leave ; this law was em- 
ployed to prevent churchmen from settling here. In 
one of his letters, Mr. Johnson speaks of having come 
to the prison, and found it full of his parishioners, and 
an insulting mob about them. The trials to which 
they were subjected, caused some to move to New 



* The next year [1724], we find the wardens and vestry chosen from 
Stratford, Fairfield, Newtown, and Eipton (now Huntington). Their 
names were as follows: Wardens — for Stratford, Nehemiah Loring, 
Thomas Salmon; for Fairfield, Dougal Mackenzie; for Newtown, John 
Glover ; for Eipton, Daniel Shelton, Charles Lane : Yestry — for Strat- 
ford, Wm. Jeanes, Jonathan Pitman, John Johnson, Eichard Blacklatch, 
William Smith, Samuel French, Samuel Watkins, Samuel Blagg, James 
Laborie, Jun. ; for Fairfield, James Laborie, Sen., Benjamin Sturgis; for 
Newtown, Samuel Beers, Eobert Sealy ; for Eipton, James Wacklee, Eich- 
ard Blacklatch, Nathaniel Cogswell. 

t In answer to the petition of churchmen, an Act passed the General 
Assembly in 1727, providing that the taxes collected for religion from 
Episcopalians might be paid to their own ministers. But the Act was ren- 
dered almost a nullity by the construction put upon it by the magistrates, 
that none were to be regarded as Episcopalians who lived at the dis- 
tance of more than a mile from the Episcopal clergyman. 

2 



18 

York. Others were deterred from joining the "sect 
every where spoken against." But though the growth 
of the Church was thus retarded, and the missionary 
at times was quite discouraged, he was able to say in 
1125^ "a good opinion of her doctrine, government, 
and liturgy gains greatly in the minds of people, and 
especially those of the soberer and better sort." And, 
two years after, about fifty families, one seventh of the 
population of the town (then ten miles square), were 
regarded by him as belonging to the parish : besides 
these, there were, he writes, " a considerable number 
scattered in the neighboring towns, ^ve^ ten, twenty, 
and thirty miles off." And in liTSS, although a num- 
ber of communicants had left to unite with the Church 
at Fairfield, where Rev. Henry Caner had been ap- 
pointed missionary, Mr. Johnson numbered eighty who 
communed at Stratford from that and neighboring 
towns,* and spoke of the church as " considerably fuller 
than ever before." 

As early as 1727, the missionary recommended a 
Mr. Bennett, who had conformed to the Church, to 
the Venerable Society, for an appointment as school- 
master, adding that his parishioners had, amongst them- 
selves, raised for him " nigh £30 per annum, equal to 



* We have records of Mr. Johnson's administering baptism, during the 
first ten years of his ministry, at Fairfield, New London, Branford, Middle- 
town, Milford, Stratfield, Norwalk, West Haven, New Haven, Newtown, 
Derby, and Chestnut Ridge (now Eeading), in Conn., at New Eochellein 
N. Y., at Smithtown and Brookhaven, L. I., and Newport, R. I. In many of 
these places he held service frequently. In Oct. 1730, he expresses his 
pleasure in having an influence in the College at New Haven, and " that a 
love to the Church gains ground greatly in it." In 1731, he speaks of 
having " labored much to promote the Church at Westerly, in Narragansett, 
as I have occasionally passed that way." 



19 

almost j610 sterling ; " and in 1733 he acknowledges tlie 
gratitude of his people to the Bishop of London, for 
" settling a school " in the place."^' 

The press was from time to time employed by Mr. 
Johnson in defence of that which he believed to be 
truth. This year (1733), in reply to a ballad on the 
Church of England, by Rev. John Graham, a Presby- 
terian minister, he published " Plain Reasons for con- 
forming to the Church ; " and subsequently, two other 
tracts in continuation of the discussion thus begun. 

A few years later, the whole colony was thrown into 
great agitation by the visits of Whitefield. Feuds and 
divisions arose among the Congregationalists, and many 
were led to seek for rest in the Episcopal Church. Mr. 
Johnson, in one of his letters at this period, acknow- 
ledging the contributions made to the library by the 
Venerable Society,f adds, " many of the people are very 
inquisitive after Christian knowledge." In 1738, it was- 
" voted that there be a weekly contribution to repair' 
the church." But so much did the Congregation increase,, 
that their house of worship would not contain them,, 
and measures were taken in 1743 J to erect a new edi- 



* In 1729 the Churcli Wardens were John Benjamin and John Kees ; 
in 1Y35, Samuel Fairchild and Wra. Beach. 

t In "Abstract," &o. we read, "The Society allow ten pounds' worth 
of books to each mission for a Library, and five pounds' worth of pious 
small tracts to every new Missionary, to be distributed among his parish- - 
ioners, and other parcels of books, as occasion requires." 

X In October of this year, the University of Oxford conferred on Mr. 
Johnson the honorary degree of D. B. On his visit to that ancient seat 
of learning in 1723, when he received the degree of M. A., the diploma 
given him used this expression ; "Sperantes nempe, illius ministerio, aliam 
et eandem, olim nascituram, Ecclesiam Anglicanam." To this, allusion; 
geems made in the diploma given at this time, whichi contained these- 



20 

fice. Seventy-six names were subscribed to the follow- 
ing pledge: "We, being convinced that it is our duty 
to contribute what we are able towards building a 
church for the honor and glory of God in this town, to 
be set apart for his worship and service according to 
the most excellent method of the Church of England, 
do hereby cheerfully and seriously devote to God the 
following sums, * * * to be employed for the pro- 
moting of that pious undertaking." About £1500 
were at first subscribed, exclusive of the subscription 
for a bell. To this sum, Mr. Wm. Beach, having at 
first made the largest subscription (£250), afterwards 
added <£750. The other subscriptions ranged from £10 
to ten shillings, all " in the old tenor.""^ 

The church was opened on the 8th of July, l744,f 
and a sermon was preached by the Rector from Psalm 
xxvi : 8, on " The Great Duty of Loving and Delight- 
ing in the Public Worship of God." The sermon was 
published, and to it were appended prayers for use in 
the family and closet. The church then opened is that in 
which we now worship. J In a letter written by the 



words: " enthusiasticis dogmatibus strenue et feliciter conflictatns, Eegim- 
inis Episcopalis vindex acerriraus, demandatam curam prudenter adeo et 
benevole, indefesse ita et potenter administravit, ut incredibili ecclesise 
incremento, summe sui expectation em sustinuerit plane et superaverit." 

* The Building Committee consisted of Col. Edmond Lewis, Oapt. Jas. 
Lewis, Mr. Ephraim Curtiss, Mr. Daniel Hawley, Mr. Joseph Browne, Mr. 
John Benjamin, Mr. Arabrous Thompson, Oapt. Gershom Edwards, Mr. 
Joseph Lewis, Mr. Tho. Lattin ; to whom were afterwards added Theo. 
Nichols, Esq., and Mr. Wm. Lamson. 

t On the same day is recorded the baptism of Ruth, daughter of Abra- 
ham and Eunice Thompson, probably the first baptism in the new edifice. 

I The dimensions are as follows : — Length, 60 feet ; width, 45 feet and 
six inches; height to the roof, 24 feet; height of spire, 120 feet. 



21 

Rector, tlie new diurch was spoken of as " iinislied in 
a very neat and elegant manner, the architecture being 
allowed in some things to exceed any thing before done 
in New England." It was originally designed that on 
one side of the chancel should be a library room, and 
on the other side a vestry. The reading desk and 
pulpit formerly stood far out towards the middle of the 
church ; and the seats were large, square pews, built by 
those who occupied them. The bell was the gift of the 
Rector, for which, as it would seem, he subscribed 
£300. During the same year, he had the pleasure of 
opening a new church at Ripton (now Huntington), then 
within the limits of this town and under his care, where 
were about fifty church families. He gratefully acknow- 
ledges " a blessed spirit of peace and charity, and of 
zeal and unanimity, happily prevailing among his 
people." 

The Venerable Society having made "the provi- 
ding a parsonage house" by each parish, a condi- 
tion of the continuance of their aid to old missionary 
stations, a beginning was here made towards this de- 
sirable end in 1748, Mr. Birdsey leaving to the parish 
twenty acres, about two miles distant from the centre 
of the town. 

On Easter Monday, 1751,* the parish "voted to 
direct the Church Wardens to apply to the next As- 
sembly, to be niade a society with parochial powers." 



* The clock was placed in the tower on the erection of the church, or soon 
after, for, in Feb. of this year, we find an agreement made with a certain 
person to keep it in good repair for two years: "to have for his labour 
£5 for each year, provided the clock goes well ; if not, he is to have 
nothing for his labour." 



22 

During the following year, Dr. Johnson was urged 
by the distinguished Benjamin Franklin, to accept the 
presidency of the college which he was engaged in 
founding in Philadelphia. This he declined, but was 
afterwards induced to take the Presidency of King's 
(now Columbia) College, then just established in New 
York, and with it, the position of an assistant minister 
of Trinity Church in that city. Pie accordingly re- 
signed this charge, and left Stratford on the 15 th of 
April, 1Y54, but seems to have performed occasional 
services here until the arrival of another missionary. 

He had ministered in this and neighboring towns for 
more than thirty years, and been privileged to see a 
great change in the feeling entertained for the Church 
of his affections. He had administered the rite of 
baptism to nine hundred and thirteen children and 
eighty-one adults, and admitted four hundred and 
forty-two to the Holy Communion.^ The precise 
number of communicants at Stratford at this time 
we are not told, but six years before, there were 
reported in Stratford and Ripton, " about two hun- 
dred," of whom doubtless the greater part were in 
this parish. The only minister in the State for some 
years after his arrival, finding but one parish organ- 
ized, and no church building completed, he was per- 
mitted to leave ten or eleven clergymen and twenty- 
five small churches. When he came, not one hundred 
adults could be found in the State attached to the 



* For the Indians and Negroes, Dr. J. always had " a catechetical lec- 
ture" during the summer rnontlis, and had among them a few communi- 
cants. 



23 

Church. On his departure, their number was reckoned 
by thousands.* 

The principal causes of this increase were stated 
by Dr. Johnson to be, (1.) immigration from Great Bri- 
tain and Ireland ; (2.) the reading of books setting forth 
Church principles ; (3.) the wild enthusiasm, at first en- 
couraged by the Congregationalists, arising from " Mr. 
Whitefield's rambling once and again through the 
country, followed by a great many strolling teachers, 
who propagated so many wild and horrid notions of 
God and the Gospel, that a multitude of people were 
so bewildered, that they could find no rest to the sole 
of their foot till they retired into the Church, as their 
only ark of safety." 

Dr. Johnson had always been fond of a country life, 
he was in easy circumstances, had lived happily with 
his people, and nothing, he declares, " could have re- 
conciled him " to leaving them, " but strong hopes of 
being more extensively useful to mankind." f 

The same year that he left (1754), Rev. Edward 
Winslow, having arrived from England with an ap- 
pointment from the Venerable Society, took charge 
of the parish. God's blessing continued to rest upon 
it. In 1756, a committee J were appointed "to treat 
for the purchase of a glebe," and " for the sale of the 
Church lands ; " and, the next year, Theophilus Nichols 
and Joseph Wooster, Esqrs., were empowered to give 



* Twelve years before this date, Dr. J. estimated the number, as " con- 
siderably more than two thousand, and at least five or six thousand, young 
and old," and " daily very much increasing." 

t Autobiography. 

X Viz., Edmond Lewis, Theophilus Nichols, Gershom Edwards, Elna- 
than Peet, and David Brooks. 



24 

a deed for certain lands sold. It seems probable tbat 
a residence for the clergyman was procured at this 
time, on the site now occupied, but we have no farther 
allusion to the matter until July, 1763, when Mr. 
"Winslow mentions, ''we are provided with a decent 
house, with two acres of land adjoining, and about as 
much at a little distance." At a parish meeting in 
the year lYSY,* it was ''voted that the Church should 
be pewed throughout with long pews," and twelve new 
pews were accordingly built. In 1760, a third Church 
was erected within the limits of the town, at North 
Stratford (now Tashua), and the care of that, as well 
as the congregation at Ripton, devolved upon the Rev. 
Christopher Newton. In a letter written in 1762, Mr. 
Winslow speaks of his congregation, as composed prin- 
cipally of persons of middle age, " the younger want- 
ing more room to spread and improve their husbandry." 
He bears testimony to his parishioners, as " in general 
careful to support the reputation of their profession, 
and to reap the benefit of the means and advantages 
they enjoy to grow in grace and in the knowledge of 
our Lord and Saviour," *' attached to the communion 
of the Church from solid principles, and from a proper 
sense of the happy tendency of the means therein af- 
forded for all needful improvement in Christian know- 
ledge and practice, careful to preserve harmony among 
themselves, and peace and charity with their brethren 
of the other persuasion." But, the next year, he was 
forced to write, " never did a malignant spirit of 



* This year, John Benjamin, Jr. was appointed organist. According 
to tradition, the organ was sent from England, but the precise time is not 
known. 



25 

opposition to tlie Churcli rage with greater vehemence 
than of late." 

On account of advantages for his large family, Mr. 
Winslow deemed it best soon after to accept the mis- 
sion at Braintree, Mass., and relinquished the charge 
of this parish on Easter Sunday, April 22, 1764. He 
had the satisfaction of feeling, that he left " with the 
general affection of the people," and that he gave up 
the Church " with some substantial additions to its 
strength." During the ten years of his connection with 
it, he administered the rite of baptism to one hundred 
and ninety-nine, of whom the greater part were in 
Stratford, but some in Norwalk, Woodbury, Walling- 
ford, Milford, and Saybrook, in this State, and Rye, 
'N. Y. During the same period, one hundred and three 
names were added to the list of communicants. A 
year or two before leaving, he reported the number of 
heads of families belonging to the Church, in that Society 
of the town with which he was connected, as about eighty, 
which he estimates to be " perhaps half the number of 
Congregation alists." He gives the number of com- 
municants at the same time, as "more than one hun- 
dred and fifty," and adds that he had *' usually between 
ninety and one hundred at the stated monthly cele- 
bration of the Holy Sacrament." It was said of Mr. 
Winslow by Dr. Johnson,* " he excels all the clergy 
of the colony as a preacher, and is behind none of 
them in discretion and good conduct ; " and in a letter 
to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr, J. recommended 
him as a most suitable person for Commissary.f 

* In 1760. 

t Mr. Winslow came toKew York during the Eevolution, and had charge 
of St. George's Chapel. He died in that city from an attack of paralysis. 



26 

The year before Mr. Winslow left, Dr. Jolinson liad 
resigned the Presidency of the College in New York, 
and returned to his old home in Stratford. He asked 
of the Society to be reappointed to this mission, ex- 
pressing his desire, " so long as he should be able, to be 
yet further useful." The parish considered themselves 
happy in again obtaining his services. At the age of 
nearly three score and ten, he applied himself diligent- 
ly to his duties, and found himself, he writes, " as able 
to discharge them, through God's assistance, as he had 
been twenty or thirty years before." ^ 

In a communication to the Society in September of 
this year (1764), he reports " about one hundred fami- 
lies, and one hundred and forty actual communicants," 
and accounts for the numbers not being larger, while 
additions are being continually made, from the diminu- 
tion by death, and by frequent migrations " from the 
sea coast to the inland parts, where land is much 
cheaper ; " " had all that conformed to the Church, with 
their descendants, continued here hitherto," he adds, 
" instead of one hundred, I believe at this time there 
would have been three hundred families." 

The next year we have a proposal illustrating the 
benevolent and self-sacrificing disposition of the ven- 
erable missionary. He proposes to the parish not to 
take any of the " money rates " to himself, but, " after 
crossing out the names of such as are subjects of chari- 
ty," to have the sums collected from others, and placed 
at interest for the purpose of establishing a fund to- 
wards the support of his successor. 



Autobiography. 



27 

In October, I'ZGG, a convention of twelve clergy- 
men from Connecticut and 'New York, of which Dr. 
Johnson was president, was held here. Their deliber- 
ations had special reference to the sad condition of the 
Church deprived of Bishops, and to the disastrous con- 
sequences, which, it was feared, must ensue. The dila- 
toriness on the part of the English Government in this 
matter,"^ the fewness of the clergy for the work, and 



* This deprivation of the Church of her chief ministers was not with- 
out continued protest on the part of those most interested in her pros- 
perity. Many were the appeals sent from this country to the authorities 
in England. Bishops there urged upon the Government the importance 
of granting the requisite permission for consecration. The Venerable So- 
ciety exerted themselves for the accomplishment of the same end. Sums 
were bequeathed by the pious for the endowment of bishoprics. More 
than once, the way seemed prepared for speedy action. But a change in 
the Ministry, the death of the Sovereign, the idea that a bishop must have 
temporal power, indifference on the part of very many in England, re- 
monstrances from Congregationalists and Presbyterians in this country, 
and, in later times, the suspicions of some Churchmen that the episcopal 
office would be employed to aid English oppression — these causes, operat- 
ing at different periods, caused the continued neglect. It was a grievous 
neglect for the Church. It was well said by the Venerable Society, 
in one of their apphcations to the Crown, that the office was " very useful 
and necessary, for establishing the Gospel, for the due exercise of ecclesi- 
astical discipline, for ordaining men well qualified and willing to take upon 
them episcopal ordination, for confirming persons baptized, and promoting 
of piety, duty, peace, and unity, as well among the clergy as laity." From 
want of Episcopal supervision, disorders arose in many places. Very 
many were hindered from entering the ministry. The expense of the 
voyage was not less than £100. At the time of the convention in Strat- 
ford (1766), about one-fifth of those who had gone for Orders had died on 
the journey. The parish of Hebron, in this State, sent over, at their own 
expense, one candidate after another, but not until a lapse of nearly twenty 
years, and three had died away from home, did they succeed in obtaining 
a clergyman. 

The missionaries at Stratford, from the days of Muirson, were faithful 
in their appeals for the remedying of this evil. The long delay, however, 
it is pleasing to think, resulted, in the providence of God, in our obtaining 



28 

tlie fact that tlie Venerable Society declined making 
any more missions in New England, caused Dr. John- 
son much sorrow and anxiety, so that in June of 
the next year he writes, " every thing now looks so 
dark and discouraging here, to the Church, that, after 
forty-five years' labor to promote it, in which, thank 
God, I have seen it much to flourish, I fear what little 
time may yet remain, I must live to see it decline and 
decay." 

The venerable missionary was now at times confined 
to the house by lameness, and therefore obtained the 
assistance of Mr. John Tyler, then a candidate for 
orders,* who read service and a sermon, when necessary ; 
and in Jan., 1768, the parish called Eev. Ebenezer 
Kneeland to be an assistant to their rector. 

Two years later, we find the aged and faithful ser- 
vant of Christ engaged in an additional effort for the 
promotion of God's glory, expressing his design to 
make Stratford " a resort for young students in divinity, 
to prepare them for Holy Orders." " Before they go," 
he continues, " if not graduated otherwise, I would pro- 
cure them the degree of M. A., at the College of New 
York. I have several times directed one or more, and 
have now four here." f This Theological School he 
expresses his intention of continuing during his life, 
with the assistance of Mr. Kneeland, who, he adds, " is 
very well qualified to continue it when I am gone." In 

bishops entirely independent of any connection with the State, which 
might not have been the case before the Eevolution. It is pleasing also to 
note, that no more can the charge of neglect in this matter be laid upon 
England, her colonial bishoprics now numbering twenty-nine, of which 
all but two have been established and endowed within the last fifty years. 

* Afterwards, for fifty-four years. Rector of Christ Church, Norwich. 

t Viz., Messrs. Marshall, Tingley, Perry, and Jones. 



29 

this connection, he gratefully acknowledges the receipt 
of Mr. Somaster's library, a collection of volumes, 
which, having been given to the Society for use at some 
missionary station, had been sent here. 

It was not permitted to Dr. Johnson to continue 
for a long period this labor of love, for which he 
was so admirably fitted. On the 6th of January, 
the Festival of the Epiphany, 1772, ''he conversed," 
we are told, " with his family, on the subject of his 
death, with the greatest cheerfulness and serenity."* 
Among other things, he said, that " although he seemed 
to be but little indisposed, yet he found his strength 
failing him, that he must soon leave them, but he was 
going home." He expressed his wish that his death 
might resemble that of his loved and esteemed friend 
Bishop Berkeley. His desire was granted. Very soon 
after this conversation, like the good Bishop, " he in- 
stantaneously expired in his chair, without the least 
struggle or groan."^*" Two days after, his funeral was 
attended, all the clergy from the neighboring towns 
being present. A sermon was preached by the Rev. 
Jeremiah Leaming of Norwalk, and his remains were 
placed in the church-yard,f where they await the re- 

* Chandler's Life, p. 125. 

t The monument erected to his memory bears this inscription, prepared 
"by Eev. Myles Cooper, D. D., his successor in the presidency of the college 
in New York : 

» ^. 
SAMUELIS JOHNSON, D. D., 

OOLLEGII EEGALI8, NOYI EBOEAOI, 

PE^SIDIB PEIMI, 

ET HUJU8 EOOLESIAE NtTPEE RE0T0RI8, 

NATUS DIE 14to OCTOB. 1696, 

oBiiT 6to JAN-. 1772. 

If decent dignity, and modest mien, 

The cheerful heart, and countenance serene ; 



30 

surrection of the just. Rev. John Eeacli of Newtown, 
one of his most valued friends, had been requested to 
preach on this occasion, but, being unable on account 
of sickness, the sermon* prepared by him was shortly 
after delivered here, and published at the request of 
those who heard it. 

Few words need be added to what has been said 
of Dr. Johnson, who has been justly denominated "the 
Father of Episcopacy in Connecticut."f " He was re- 
markable for a very uniform and placid temper, and 
great benignity of disposition, which was displayed in 
habitual beneficence and hospitality." J He was a dili- 
gent student through life, a good classical scholar, pas- 
sionately fond of the Hebrew language, and possessing 
a mind richly stored with general knowledge. He was 
an ardent seeker for truth, ever willing to re-examine 
any position which he had taken. His sermons were 



If pure religion, and unsullied truth, 

His age's solace, and his search in youth ; 

If piety, in all the paths he trod, 

Still rising vig'rous to his Lord and God ; 

If charity, through all the race he ran, 

Still wishing well, and doing good to man ; 

If learning, free from pedantry and pride, — 

If faith and virtue, walking side by side ; 

If well to mark his being's aim and end, — 

To shine, through life, a husband, father, friend ; 

If these ambition in thy soul can raise. 

Excite thy reverence, or demand thy praise ; 

Reader, ere yet thou quit this earthly scene, 

Eevere his name, and be what he has been. 

Myles Coopee. 
* Text, 2 Cor., iv. 18. 

t His life has been published, prepared by Dr. Chandler, principally 
from an autobiography. 

X Hon. G. C. Verplanck, in Hist, of Trinity Church, N. Y., p. 116. 



31 

composed with care, and the duties of the pastor to his 
flock were faithfully discharged. His pen was often 
employed to defend the Church, to which he was ar- 
dently attached, in works which were published. Mr. 
Beach, in his funeral sermon, did not hesitate to speak 
of him, as " the most excellent scholar, and the most 
accomplished divine, that this colony ever had to glory 
in." Many of the early clergy of Connecticut, educa- 
ted in prejudice against the Episcopal Church, attached 
themselves to it through his influence. " For near fifty 
years," says his biographer, " there was not, I believe, 
a single candidate for Holy Orders in the colony who 
did not apply to him for his advice and direction. To 
those of them who needed pecuniary assistance for the 
voyage to England, he gave generously and cheerful- 
ly."* The clergy in 1742 unanimously requested of the 
Bishop of London that he might be appointed the 
Bishop's Commissaryf in this colony. The Venerable 
Society made mention of his death as " a public loss to 
the Society and to the American Church." During 
his ministry in this place, we have the record of 1,172 
baptisms, and 473 persons admitted to the holy com- 
munion ; the parish, whom he had so long and so faith- 
fully served, might well regard their loss as '' irrepar- 
able." This diocese will never let his memory die, 
and in this Church, his name should ever be held in 
grateful and honorable remembrance. 

By the " unanimous and earnest " desire of the pa- 
rishioners, Mr. Kneeland, who had assisted Dr. Johnson 



* Chandler's Life, &c., p. 129. 

t The Commissary had power delegated from the Bishop to discipline, 
and judge in Ecclesiastical matters. 



/ 



32 

for the last four years of his ministry, was appointed 
by the Society the missionary to the parish. Its Hmits 
were now very much reduced from their original ex- 
tent, being " bounded," wrote the wardens, " west by 
Rev. Mr. Lamson's cure, which extends within three 
miles of the church, on the north by Rev. Mr. New- 
ton's, which extends within five miles of the church, 
on the east by Stratford River, but one mile from the 
church, and on the south by the sea, which is two 
miles from the church, but habitable only one mile." 
The wardens, in the same communication, speak of the 
number attached to the church as being greater than 
at any former period, but their ability to support a 
clergyman less than fifteen years previous, from the 
" decay of trade and failure of several of their princi- 
pal members."* 

In April, 1775, we find that a committee was ap- 
pointed to devise means for the payment of that due 
on the glebe, and to superintend the repairs on the 
church. 

We come now to the troublous days of the Revo- 
lution. Many of the clergy felt obligated by their 
vows to continue their allegiance to Great Britain, and 
strong feeling against the Church was thereby created. 
The vine which had taken deep root, and sent forth 
vigorous branches, was broken and trodden down. 
There is no record of the baptismal, or other offices 
being performed here from the beginning of the Revo- 
lution till after the close of the war.f But there 

* On Easter Monday, April 20, 1772, it was " voted that the pew next 
to the pulpit be given to Capt. Philip Nichols, he building the Christening 
Pew." 

t The last record is the Baptism of Asa, son of Thomas and Ann Cur- 



seems reason for supposing that the Churdimen of this 
town were generally patriots.* Mr. Kneeland is be- 
lieved to have continued in charge of the parish until 
his death, which occurred on the I7th of April, 17 7 7. 
But it is probable that services were interrupted du- 
ring the last year of his life ; for in October, 1776, Mr. 
Inglis, of Trinity Church, N. Y., wrote that all the 
Churches in Connecticut were closed, except that at 
Newtown, where Mr. Beach still ministered. Mr. 
Kneeland is said to have been " a man of meek and 
quiet spirit, a good scholar, and a very acceptable 
preacher."f 

The parish seems to have been destitute of clerical 
services for some time after his death. In April, 1778, 
the use of the glebe was granted to his widow until 
the appointment of another incumbent to the parish. 
In September of the same year, an agreement was 
made with Mr. Henry Van Dyke, who was ordained 
some years after, that he should perform divine service. 

tiss, on the 3d of February, 1776. He, having faithfully served God in his 
generation, and having been a Warden of Christ Church for nearly thirty 
years, was buried by the present Rector on the 13th of Feb., 1850. 

* Such was the spirit displayed, that, as early as 1774, not a man in 
the town was " ready to dissent from the revolutionary measures recom- 
mended by the Continental Congress, and the movements, in various 
places, expressive of sympathy for those who suffered from such oppressive 
acts as the Boston Port Bill." Among the churchmen active in the cause 
of their country may be named Nehemiah Beardsley, a Colonel of Troops 
raised in Conn. Many are known to have received pensions for their ser- 
vices in the war. 

t Mr. Kneeland was of Congregational parents. He graduated at Yale 
in 1761, and went to England for Orders in 1765. Before coming to Strat- 
ford, he served as Chaplain in the British army. He married Charity, eld- 
est daughter of Dr. Johnson. He left no children. His remains were in- 
terred in the Churchyard at Stratford. For that said of his character in 
the Sermon, and some of the statistics in this note, I am indebted to Rev. 
Dr. Chapin, who refers to the Fowler MSS. as his authority. 

3 



84 

On the 27tli of March, 1780, the wardens were au- 
thorized to engage the Eev. John K. Marshall of 
"Woodbury, to officiate here every third Sunday, until 
the parish was otherwise provided for, and, the next 
year, authority was also given them to obtain his services 
for such time as could be agreed upon. At the suc- 
ceeding annual meeting (on Easter Monday, April 1, 
1782), the wardens were instructed " to agree with a 
clergyman for the present year," but we have no record 
as to the result of their action. 

In 1783, the Independence of the United States was 
acknowledged by Great Britain, and with this ended 
the aid extended to the parish by the Society in Eng- 
land, it being deemed incompatible with their charter 
to carry on missionary operations beyond the dominions 
of the British crown.* To that Society, we, my breth- 
ren, in common with many parishes, owe a deep debt 
of gratitude ; for to it, under God, is this Church in- 
debted for its " first foundation, and a long continuance 
of nursing care and protection." 

The Parish was now thrown entirely upon its own 
resources, and, notwithstanding the trials of the pre- 
vious ten years, and the injury which it must have 
received, it soon gave proofs of life and vigor. On the 
18th of April, 1784, Rev. Jeremiah Leaming, D. D., 



* The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was 
organized in 1701. That year its income amounted to about ^7,700. In 
1782, the last year that aid was extended to the Church in the United 
States, its receipts were about $25,000. It is still vigorously prosecuting 
its good work, its income last year being nearly $712,000. Prom its 
''first beginning in New England, it has extended its operations into all 
parts of the world, from the Ganges to Lake Huron, and from ISTew Zeal- 
and to Labrador." 



35 

was called to the RectorsMp, and immediately entered 
on his duties. On the 4th of July of the next year, a 
committee was appointed to confer with Mr. Solomon 
Curtis, and, if practicable, purchase of him the lot ad- 
joining the glebe, using for payment certain money ire 
the hands of the Church officers.* And in July, 1786,. 
a subscription was opened for repairing the Church,. 
the work being done during the next year. 

That for which many had been earnestly laboring 
for a long period, the consecration of a bishop who 
might perform episcopal duties in the State, had been- 
at last effected, the Rev. Samuel Seabury, D. D., being 
consecrated to that office by Dr. Kilgour and other 
bishops of the Scottish Church, at Aberdeen, on the^ 
14th of November, 1Y84 ; and in the year 1786,, 
a collection was here made towards his support. 
An aged communicant f of the parish who received 
the statement from members of the family of a former 
generation, informs me that Bishop Seabury's first 
confirmation, and hence the first administration of" 
the rite in America, was in this church in which we- 
are now worshipping. 

Dr. Leaming continued in charge of the parish un- 
til Easter, 1790, when, suffering from the infirmities of 
old age, he resigned the situation. During the six 
years of his rectorship, the rite of baptism was admin- 
istered to one hundred and fifty-four, and thirty-five- 



* On the 26tli of Feb., 1785, it was "voted that the church do now 
qnalify as a parish, according to the Laws of this State." 

t Mrs. Susan Johnson. The first two persons confirmed are said to 
have been Mrs. Anna Johnson wife of Wm. Sam. Johnson, LL. D., and the 
Hon. S. W. Johnson. I have not been able to learn that Bishop Seabury 
left any register that could be referred to as authority on this interesting 
point. 



36 

names were added to the list of communicants. He 
was liiglily esteemed and loved in this parish, and the 
estimation in which he was held by his brethren of the 
clergy is evident from the fact that he was their first 
choice in 1Y83 as Bishop of the Diocese; but, declining 
on account of his infirmities, Dr. Seabury was elected.* 
On Dr. Leaming's resignation, the Rev. James 
Sayre was called to the rectorship, and a committee was 
appointed to ascertain whether the church at Milford 
would "join this church under the same minister." 
Mr. Sayre had been settled at Trinity Church, ISTew- 
port, E. I., but was obliged to leave that place after an 
open rupture with a majority of the congregation.-)- He 
was eccentric in his character, and thought by some to 
be at times derauged. After a ministry of about two 
and a half years in this parish, he united himself with 
the Congregationalists, or (as some say) Methodists, 
on the ground of dissatisfaction with the Prayer Book, 
as it had been established in the General Convention 
in 1789, and approved at a convocation of the clergy 

* Jeremiah Learning was born at Middletown, Conn., in 1717. He 
graduated at Yale College in 1745, embraced Episcopacy immediately after, 
and was ordained in 1748. He officiated at ISTewport, E. I., eight years, 
when he accepted a call to the Church at Norwalk, Ct., where he continued 
twenty-one years. During the Revolution he suffered severely from both 
the British and American parties. The Church at Norwalk, with many 
•other buildings, was burned in 1779 by the British troops under Gen. Try on, 
and Dr. Learning lost his furniture, books, all his papers, and even his 
wearing apparel. From Norwalk he went to iTew York. "He was after- 
wards put in jail as a tory, and denied even the comforts of a bed. This 
brought on a hip complaint, which made him a cripple for life." After the 
close of the War, he was called to the church at Stratford. He died at 
ISTew Haven in Sept., 1804. He published a Defence of the Episcopal 
Church, a Sermon on the Evidences of Christianity, and Dissertations on 
various subjects. Updilce^s Narragansett^ p. 267. 

t Updike's Narragansett, p. 405. 



in this diocese in Sept., 1790, by the vote of every mem- 
ber except himself. During his ministry, sixty-nine 
were baptized, and ten admitted to the Holy Com- 
munion. 

On the first of April, 1793, the Kev. Ashbel Bald- 
win, then of Litchfield, was called to the rectorship, 
to officiate here for two thirds of the time. Mr. Bald- 
win accepted the call, devoting to the Church at 
Tashua the remaining Sundays. 

In 1795, the Convention of the Diocese met here, 
attended by Bishop Seabury, nineteen clergymen, and 
twenty-three lay delegates.* 

f Under Mr. Baldwin's ministry the congregation 
gradually increased, and in 1804, it was resolved "to 
finish the unfinished pews in the church." 

In 1808 the Convention of the diocese appointed 
a committee to " inquire whether the library given by 
Mr. Somaster to the clergy of Connecticut, may, con- 
sistently with the terms of the donation, be deposited 
in the library of the Episcopal Academy at Cheshire." 
The committee reported at the next convention that 
the library was " entirely at the direction of the 
clergy," and it was then ordered that the books should 
be collected and placed in the institution at Cheshire. 
A few volumes, probably overlooked at the time, are 
still found here. J 



* It was the last convention over which Bishop Seabury presided, he 
being called to his reward on the 25th of Feb., in the following year. 

t In 1794, a committee was appointed to settle with " the persons em- 
ployed in covering the church ;" in 1799, a subscription was ordered to be 
circulated for means to " cover the north roof." 

X By the kindness of Mrs. Susan Johnson, several hundred volumes of 



38 

At tlie same convention (A. D. 1809), Mr. Baldwin 
reported the number of families belonging to tlie 
parisli as eighty, and sixty enrolled as communicants. 
This is the first record that we have, after the Kevolu- 
tion, of the number connected with the parish, and 
shows that it had by no means attained to the strength 
which it enjoyed before that period. 

Four years after, the Convention again assembled 
here. Bishop Jarvis had been called away by death 
during the previous month. Twenty-nine clergymen, 
and an equal number of lay delegates, attended the 
Convention. On the assessments for a Bishop's Fund 
made this year, this Parish paid $288 of the $300 for 
which it was assessed.* 

For some years efforts were used to obtain Mr. Bald- 
win's release from the Parish at Tashua, and his undi- 
vided attention to the Church in this place, but without 
success until 1815. f During the following year there 
was a large increase in the number of families and com- 
municants, many from the Congregational Society then 
connectino^ themselves with the Parish. Mr. Baldwin 
reported to the Convention in 1816 an addition of forty 
communicants. Two years after, the seats in the body 
of the church were narrowed, and some new ones made 
on the room thereby gained. J 



the Library of the Rev. Dr. Johnson have been for some years placed in 
the Rectory for the use of the clergyman. 

* Only one-fifth of the Parishes paid their full assessment. 
' t Mr. Baldwin, at difierent periods in his ministry, held occasional ser- 
vices in Milford. 

J The glass chandelier hanging in the church was presented by Capt. 
S. C. Nicoll in 1818. 



39 

In 1821, tlie Parish at Tashua presented a request 
that Mr. Baldwin might again officiate there for a third 
of the time. It was acceded to by this Parish for that 
year, but, at the ensuing Easter, they refused longer to 
assent to it. 

In 1822, the Diocesan Convention again met here. 
Bishop Brownell presided, and twenty-seven clergymen 
and thirty-eight lay delegates were present. 

On the 19th of April, 1824, Mr. Baldwin presented 
his resignation of the Parish, which was accepted during 
the next month. He had been Hector for a period of 
thirty-one years. During this time he admitted one 
hundred and thirty to the Holy Communion.* 

Mr. Baldwin ever took an active part in the general 
affairs of the Church. For a period of twenty-six years 
he was Secretary of the Diocesan Convention, and being 
again elected in 1822, he declined the office. For 
fourteen years he was a member of the Standing Com- 
mittee of the Diocese. In 1801 he was appointed " Sec- 
retary and Chaplain" to the General Convention, and 
at ^Ye Conventions he was elected Secretary, until 
he refused longer to serve. 

One of his cotemporariesf has truly, I believe, char- 
acterized him as " a gentleman of strong mental powers, 
of a lively aiid cheerful disposition, animated and elo- 
quent in the pulpit, with a sonorous and distinct elocu- 
tion, benevolent and humane, blending in his character 
many excellencies in unison with lively and sarcastic 
sallies of gay good humor and wit." Of him, and 
another J who long ministered in the neighboring Par- 

* No record of liis baptisms is found, 
t Hev. Isaac Jones, late of LitcMeld. 
t The Rev. Philo Shelton. 



40 

islies of Bridgeport and Fairfield, our Senior Bishop 
spoke in his address to the Convention in 1824, in 
words, to the justice of which we can all, I am sure, 
heartily respond: "These clergymen were admitted 
to their ministry at the first Episcopal Ordination ever 
held in America. They have labored faithfully in the 
Church in this Diocese during its darkest periods of 
depression, and through the progressive stages of its 
advancement they have taken an important part in its 
councils. They have borne * the heat and burden of 
the day,' and are entitled to the gratitude of all those 
who enjoy the fruits of their counsels and labors."* 

The Rev. Edward Rutledge, of the Diocese of South 
Carolina, succeeded Mr. Baldwin in the rectorship. He 
also held services, from time to time, in Milford. The 
Church was prosperous under Mr. Rutledge's ministry.f 
He was a practical and earnest writer, a graceful 
speaker, and a devoted parish priest. He continued 
in charge, universally esteemed and beloved, until the 
spring of 1 829, when he accepted a situation as professor 
in the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia. J 

* Mr. Baldwin was born in Litchfield, on the 7th of March, 1757. He 
graduated at Yale College in 1776. During the Revolution he was active 
in the cause of his country, holding an appointment as quartermaster. He 
was ordained by Bishop Seabury to the diaconate at Middletown, August 3, 
1785, and to the priesthood, in Trinity Church, ISTew Haven, on the 18th 
of September. On the 9th of that month, he became rector of St. Michael's 
Church, Litchfield, where he continued till his removal to Stratford. After 
his resignation of this parish, he ofiiciated in Tashua, Meriden, and South- 
ington, Walhngford, Oxford, and North Haven, and was a resident in New 
Haven, Stratford, Bridgeport, and, lastly, in Eochester, where he died on 
Sunday, Feb, 8th, 1846, having attained to nearly 89 years of age. 

t The record of baptisms and additions to the communion has not been 
preserved. 

I Edward Rutledge was born near Charleston, S. C, Nov. 16, 1798. 
He was graduated at Yale College in 1817. In 1819 he was ordained 



41 

We have now, beloved, reached that period when 
the history of the parish is known to most of you more 
accurately than it can be known by me. I shall, there- 
fore, confine myself to a brief summary of such facts as 
it may be desirable to record, premising that, in the 
frequent changes in the rectorship to which the parish 
has been subjected during the last twenty-five years, 
the statistics presented often give but a very imperfect 
idea of the true work accomplished by the minister * 

For a short time after Mr. Eutledge's resignation, 
the Rev, Ashbel Steele officiated in the church, but was 
never elected rector. 

The Rev. George C. Shephard, having been duly 
called, entered upon his duties on the 1st of Nov., 
1829. During the next year a new rectory was built 
upon the site of the former one, at an expense of about 
$2,200. Of this sum, $650 was obtained by the sale of 
landf belonging to the Church, and the remainder was 
raised by subscription. In 1834, about $900 was ex- 



deacon by Bishop Brownell, and, having married Augusta, daughter of 
If athaniel Shaler, Esq., of Middletown, Conn., he removed to South Caro- 
hna, and labored in St. Thomas and St. Denis parishes, in that diocese. 
In 1821, he organized the Church at Springfield, Mass. In ITov., 1822, he 
resumed the charge of St. Thomas and St. Denis, and was ordained priest by 
Bishop Bowen, on the 17th of Dec, at Shrewsbury Chapel, St. John's Parish, 
S. C. From this place he removed to Stratford. In 1831, a bronchial 
affection obliged him to relinquish his duties at the university, and he pro- 
ceeded to Charleston, hoping that the genial air of the South would reno- 
vate his health. All efforts to avert the disease were in vain. He died at 
Charleston, March 13th, 1832. 

* The number of clergymen connected with the parish during the last 
twenty-five years has been about the same as during the previous hundred. 

t A part of this lay about the rectory, and the remainder at a short 
distance. 



42 

pended in repairing and painting the churcli* Mr. 
Shepliard's connection with the parish terminated at 
Easter, 1839. During the nine and a half years of his 
rectorship, one hundred and four children and eleven 
adults received holy baptism, and seventy were con- 
firmed by the Bishop. In addition to that expended 
on th.e church and parsonage, there were contributed 
for missionary and charitable purposes, exclusive of the 
alms at communion, about $2,875. 

The Eev. Edwin W. Wiltbank was elected to the rec- 
torship on the 2d of June, in the year of Mr. Shep- 
hard's resignation, and continued in charge until the 
fifth Sunday in Lent, 1842. Twenty children and 
three adults were baptized by him, and nineteen were 
presented for confirmation. The offerings, exclusive of 
the communion alms, amounted to about $420. 

On the first of June, 1842, the parisb called tbe 
Eev. Alfred A. Miller to the vacant rectorship. Mr. 
Miller's connection with, the parish was short, he feeling 
obliged, from the illness of a member of his family, to 
remove to a warmer clime. During the year and a 
half of his rectorship, the organ was so much improved 
as to render it almost a new instrument, the old pulpit 
and reading desk were removed, and those now used 
placed in their present position. Five were baptized, 
and sixteen received the rite of laying on of hands 
from the Bishop of the diocese. Mr. Miller resigned 
on the 28th of ISTov., 1843. 

He was succeeded by the Kev. John Morgan, who 
commenced his duties in January of the following 



* In 1835, the font now used in the church was presented by Miss 
Frances Johnson. 



43 

year. Mr. Morgan presented Ms resignation on the 
3d of December, 1845, but continued to officiate until 
tlie next spring. During his ministry, baptism was ad- 
ministered to thirty-three children and two adults, and 
confirmation to ten persons."^ 

At Easter, 1846, Kev. Joseph Scott entered upon 
the rectorship. On the 27th of August, 1849, he ac- 
cepted a call to the Church at Naugatuc, and resigned 
his position here. Twenty-six children and one adult 
received from him the rite of baptism, and four were 
presented for confirmation. The church offerings, ex- 
clusive of the communion alms, amounted to $605. 

On the 28th of Oct., 1849, your present Kector 
commenced his labors in this church as a Parish minis- 
ter. On Tuesday, the 30th of April, in the following 
year, I was here admitted to the order of priests by 
Bishop Brownell. In the spring of 1851, the large 
square pews on each side of the church were changed 
to afford increased accommodations. During my rec- 
torshij), forty-six children and fourteen adults have re- 
ceived baptism, and fifty-six have been confirmed by 
the Bishop. The number of communicants is, at pre- 
sent, one hundred and fifty-five. The offerings of the 
Church, including the communion alms, have amounted 
to about $2,300. In addition to this, $500 have been 
left for purposes connected with the Church of Christ, 
by two communicants who have been taken from us. 

My brethren, at the expiration of nearly one hun- 
dred and fifty years since the first service was held 

* ITo reeord has been preserved of the church offerings during Mr. 
Miller's and Mr. Morgan's connection with the parish. 



44 

here by tlie pious Muirson, we are privileged to join in 
those prayers and praises that our fathers then united in. 
But all else is changed, happily changed. In almost 
every town where the early missionaries went sowing 
the good seed, flourishing Churches are now found. 

Like most of the Parishes in our old villages, this is 
continually sending forth its sons to do a work for 
Christ in other places; but some of these return, after 
years of absence, to live again in the scenes of their 
youth, and strengthen the old Church. Though the 
limits of the Parish have been reduced, even within a 
few years, it is now, by the blessing of God, stronger 
than at any previous period in its history, united and 
prosperous, and more pews are needed to accommodate 
those who desire to worship with us. 

The review which we have this day taken, suggests 
to us, beloved, that we have reason to be thankful for 
the days in which God has cast our lot. Prejudice is to 
a great extent dissipated. Open persecution has ceased. 
We have the privilege of worshipping God freely, ac- 
cording to the dictates of our conscience. We can hold 
and inculcate those primitive and apostolic truths for 
which our fathers suffered, while cultivating and main- 
taining " quietness, peace and love among all Christian 
people." 

We should be ever ready, dear brethren, to impart 
to others the like aid and sympathy with that which was 
so long extended to us. This is the appointed plan 
in the Providence of God for advancing His kingdom 
among men. The spirit of love influencing the follow- 
ers of Christ, causes them to rejoice in aiding and 
comforting the weak, seeking, with the help of God, to 
build up all in the most holy faith. 



45 

Lastly, let us, putting our trust in the Lord, be 
" strong and of good courage." His loving care and de- 
fence in the past are a pledge for the future, if we are 
but faithfal in our allegiance to Him. If at any time 
there come dark and gloomy days for the Church, let 
us look up to our God for guidance and help. Eemem- 
bering where our true strength lies, let our prayer be 
fervent and constant, — " The Lord ouk God be with 
us, AS He was with ouk fathers." 



Almighty God, who hast built thy Church upon the 
foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ him- 
self being the chief Corner-Stone ; Grant that, by the opera- 
tion of the Holy Ghost, all Christians may be so joined toge- 
ther in unity of spirit, and in the bond of peace, that they 
may be an holy temple acceptable unto thee. And especially 
to this Congregation give the abundance of thy grace ; that 
with one heart they may desire the prosperity of thy holy 
Apostolic Church, and with one mouth may profess the faith 
once delivered to the Saints. Defend them from the sins of 
heresy and schism : let not the foot of pride come nigh to 
hurt them, nor the hand of the ungodly to cast them down. 
And grant that the course of this world may be so peaceably 
ordered by thy governance, that thy Church may joyfully 
serve thee in all godly quietness ; that so they may walk in 
the ways of truth and peace, and at last be numbered with 
thy Saints in glory everlasting ; through thy merits, blessed 
Jesus, thou gracious Bishop and Shepherd of our souls, who 
art with the Father and the Holy Ghost one God, world with- 
out end. Amen. 



LIST OF CLEEGTMEN 



WHO HAVE HAD CHARGE OF 



C|rist C|ttri:|. 



NAMES. 

GEORGE MUIRSOiT, - 
FEANCIS PHILIPS, 
GEORGE PIGOT, 
SAMUEL JOHNSOiT, D.D., 
EDWARD WINSLOW, 
SAMUEL JOHNSON, D. D., 
EBENEZER KNEELAND, - 
JOHN R. MARSHALL, - 
JEREMIAH LEAMING, D. D., 
JAMES SAYRE, - 
ASHBEL BALDWIN, - 
EDWARD RUTLEDGE, - 
GEORGE C. SHEPHARD, - 
EDWIN W. WILTBANK, 
ALFRED A. MILLER, 
JOHN MORGAN, - 
JOSEPH SCOTT, 
JOHN A. PADDOCK, - 



TIME. 

1707—1708 
1712—1713 
1722—1723 
1728—1754 
1754—1764 
1764—1772 
1772—1777 
1780—1782 
1784—1790 
1790—1792 
1793—1824 
1824—1829 
1829—1839 
1839—1842 
1842—1843 
1844—1846 
1846—1849 
1849—1855 



i 



JO ^' ' ' 









o 

o 



AN 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE 



<e2{3 



DELIVERED IN 



€\xni €\m\, StotM, €m%., 



ON THE 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT, 



HABCE 28th, 18S5. 



REV. JOHN A. PADDOCK, M. A., 



RECTOR. 



E/eniember the days of old." — Dent xxxii. 7. 



QiLC- 



JJJLQJ 



'f 



o 

NEW YORK: ^ 

G. P. PUTNAM & CO., 10 PARK PLACE. 
1855. 





I 



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Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: IVlagnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: March 2006 

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